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This is my last post of 2009! So, from A Colourful Gal, aka Crab Bag, and myself, Happy New Year 2010!

I’ll be away all day and all night today at the Highlife New Year’s Eve Experience 2009/10. So you probably wont hear from me for a day or so. However, please be on the lookout for my coverage of the event, after I recover from a night of debauchery that is, and gradually regain usage of the language centre of my brain…

I’ve just found out about another big New Years Eve event, the Smashproof party in Whakatane.

Now for those of you not familiar with Smashproof they’re a New Zealand-South Pacific Hip-hop group that blew up this year with their breakthrough hit, Brother featuring Gin Wigmore. I was going to embed the video below. However, Youtube has disallowed it! Wankers! ;)

Instead I’ll embed a photo below of myself with Young Sid from the group! Har har! ;)

Since yours truly has VIP/Media access you can bet your last dollar that I’ll be there snapping away and partying on and on until the break of dawn! ;)

Highlife New Years Eve Experience 2009/10 features a huge line-up of musical acts this year and I’ll do my best to get up-close and personal with my favourites. Hopefully, they’ll be some of your favourites too. If not, oh well, you should have bought a ticket and come to the show yourself! ;)

For more information – I think there might be some tickets left – please click here.

I’m just enjoying a lovely afternoon here at A Colourful Crib and I thought I’d walk around our garden and snap some photos, which I’ve shared with you all above.

The photos are all pretty raw and unedited. I was just practicing shooting quickly, under moderately windy conditions, in high resolution mode, as one might when doing runway work, and I’m damned pleased with the results.

Please enjoy these photography and simple image editing experiments I thought I’d share with you all above.

The subjects are some flowers in a vase that A Colourful Gal loves to keep on our glass top table in the lounge. While I don’t tell her this nearly often enough, I appreciate her doing so, as it adds some real beauty to our home.

I’m really enjoying my new camera and am learning more about it features and functions with each passing day. As a matter of fact, I’m enjoying it so much I’ve decided to take some photography classes very soon.

It’s not that I don’t know how to use an advanced camera, nor do I have any problems with image composition, it’s just that I believe a seasoned pro could teach me some tricks that might take me years to acquire on my own.

I’d like to introduce you all to my main man, Max the cat. Featured above is a slideshow of him enjoying his favourite toy, a clothes hamper from the $2 shop! ;)

Max came to us several months ago as a stray along with his queen, which we named Cindy, because she had a little beauty mark on her upper jaw that reminded me of supermodel Cindy Crawford’s mole.

Cindy and Max had been hanging around our house for about a week when we started wondering what was going on with them as they both looked rather ragged and malnourished as if they had been living rough for awhile.

Well, it turns out that Cindy had given birth to three kittens in our garage as A Colourful Gal was to discover when she was out there one day.

Of course we took care of both Cindy and Max upon discovering that they were new parents; we fed them both, which was a real chore after awhile as Cindy was ravenously hungry due to the demands of milk production on her body, and so was Max as he was constantly having to fend off the other male cats in the neighbourhood that wanted a piece of Cindy and the kittens; we deflead them; I personally chased away Max’s rivals on numerous occasions and rescued him from several very sound ass kickings.

To make a long story short… Cindy and two of the kittens eventually went to the SPCA; the third got lost unfortunately. And, Max we decided to keep with us as we felt his temperament made his chances of being adopted rather low; he can be quite a grumpy prick at times, probably due to the fact that he was living feral for several years as we came to find out later, although he’s calmed down a lot now due to my efforts to socialize him.

What I said about the day concert previously applies to the night concert as well; if you missed this one you missed a real treat! As a matter of fact, I found the night concert to be even more enjoyable as it was an R18+ event and everyone really let loose! ;)

Just as a side note: After the concert was over there were a number of young people that had gathered in the parking lot across the road from Finnegan’s. Well, wouldn’t you know, in their infinite wisdom the New Zealand Police decided to implement Operation Booze Blitz on the crowd.

I was outside well prior to the police showing up and I can assure you that there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary going on; there was no violence happening; no crime and no one was overly drunk or disorderly.

It was just a bunch of young people whooping it up as young people tend to do. Hell, I frequently whooped it up myself in my late teens and early twenties!

Anyway, within seconds of the first police car showing up, and the officers harassing the young people for no apparent good reason, a beer bottle got thrown, and then another! That did it! Within the space of five minutes we had six police cars and twelve officers on the scene and the crowd was quickly dispersed.

The whole thing was totally unnecessary and the police caused a problem where none actually existed! So much for Operation Booze Blitz!

Above are a few of the photos I snapped at the Pride of the Pacific 2009 daytime benefit concert which was held at the Son and SK8 Hall in Glen Innes this past Saturday.

The performers featured are DJ Willie, 6 Pound, the Birthday Boys, Mareko & Devolo, the Babylon Riddim Band and Juliet.

As you can see my investment in a new camera has really paid off quite well and I’m very satisfied with the results.

I’ve decided against writing up a review as I have way too much on at the moment. However, I will say this, nearly all the performances were exceptional and anyone not attending the concert missed a real treat!

Young performer from Babylon Riddim Band at the Pride of the Pacific 2009 daytime concert.

Image/A Colourful Guy

Hi all,

Yesterday while most people were focused on Coca Cola’s Christmas in the Park, A Colourful Gal and I headed on over to the Son and SK8 Hall in Glen Innes to enjoy a benefit concert for Tonga, Pride of the Pacific 2009. I also went to the R18+ night time concert at which was held at Finnegan's Irish Bar in Royal Oak.

Since it’s a Sunday, and no one is paying me to do this, I’m not going to give a full review nor post photos from the concerts at this time. However, I will say that for fans of Pacific Reggae, Hip and Hip and RnB, if you weren’t at either show you missed a real treat!

Please do stay tuned for my more comprehensive coverage of Pride of the Pacific 2009.

If you recall I blogged about the 2010 release of Sade’s new CD, entitled “Soldier of Love” a few days back. Well, featured above is what’s supposed to be the first official video of the first single from the CD.

If I sound a little dismissive about it it’s because we know how the rumour mill works on the Internet. And, the above video has nothing in common with the one that’s on Sade’s site at the moment except for the actual music.

Those sonic rave badboys, Keith Flint, Liam Howlett, and Maxim Reality (pictured above), aka The Prodigy, are due back in Auckland at Trust Stadium on February 25, 2010. Tickets go on sale on December 10.

I’ve been a huge fan of the band ever since the release of their 1997 CD “The Fat of the Land”. And, “Breathe”, the video which I’ve embedded below, is one of my personal top 100 favourite songs!

Hopefully, I’ll see some of you at the concert, and don’t forget… Breathe with me!

Remember sultry Nigerian-British songstress Sade Adu? I’m sure you do! Well, after ten long years since her last CD, Lover’s Rock, was released she’s due to release a new one entitled “Solider of Love” on February 8th, 2010!

Image/ngex.com

Though no details about Sade's new music have yet been revealed, one artist heard early versions of several songs: Maxwell, a fellow Sony recording artist and longtime friend and collaborator with Matthewman. The R&B singer sent a message to fans in March via his private Facebook page in which he indicated that he'd heard some of his labelmate's new recordings. "Trust me, it's so monolithic it'll shake you in your shoes!" he wrote. Source/Billboard.com

This is the last part of my review of Fashion Beauty Music which was held on November 21 at the Kelliher Estate.

The headlining act at FBM was internationally known House diva Terri Bjerre (aka Terri B.) and she most definitely rocked the house that night!

Terri works alongside some of the most successful dance artists in the industry, and she’s released recordings with such notables as Roger Sanchez, D.O.N.S, Mark Trophy, Francesco Diaz, John Dahlback, Jerry Ropero, and Eric Smax.

She’s a big woman with a big voice and the crowd responded well to her. At one point during the show Terri came down from the stage and sung and dance with us on the floor. Everybody just loved that!

I got to speak with her briefly and learned that she’s originally from Washington D.C. which is about 65 miles north of where I was born in Virginia. So she’s my homegirl! ;)

Just to give you all a taste of Terri’s considerable talent, please enjoy the embedded video below, and do enjoy my above slideshow of her performance at FBM!

If you like big, expensive, high profile House music parties, combined with a fashion show by two of Auckland’s best young designers, and attended by beautiful people, well, this one was the place to be!

Just to whet your appetites I’ve uploaded the one photo above and I’m planning on uploading more later today; after I get some much needed sleep first. Hopefully, my photography skills are improving and the new camera definitely helps with that. Although one probably wont be able to tell from here as Blogger insist on compressing the very last drop of quality out of every photo it gets it’s mitts on!

I just found out a couple of days ago that legendary soul singer, Al Green, is playing in Auckland on the 21st of January, 2010 at the Civic. This will be Al’s first ever appearance in New Zealand.

My father was, and probably still is, a huge Al Green fan. And, I can recall many an hour spent cruising around with Dad in the car as we listened to Al’s silky-smooth singing voice on an 8 track deck. Yes! That was a long time ago! ;)

In terms of his music, Al has this knack for blending emotion and erotica in such a way that neither overpowered the other. In other words: He wants you to give it to him and not hold back with it. But, he’s going remind you that he loves you while you do so. ;)

Al has had a very lengthy career spanning some 40+ years. He’s released 40+ albums so far, selling 150+ million copies, and has won 11 Grammys!

This was the first Juice TV function I’d ever been to and quite enjoyed it. While I didn’t care for the band that was on that night – some indie Rock group – I did enjoy the venue and the company of many of Auckland’s music, television and print media community.

The Juice Bar was sufficiently dark, hip and lounge-like for my taste, with a nice outdoor courtyard where one can smoke, booze, chat, laugh and schmooze to one’s heart’s content.

Since the function had an open bar, we all took advantage of it by downing as many Vodka and Redbull mixed drinks as possible. Fortunately, no one was stumbling when we left, even after all that Vodka – it must have been the Redbull helping to keep us steady. ;)

From the Juice Bar we headed to the Ponsonby Social Club, which is located right beside the ever-so-trendy restaurant, SPQR.

DJ Manual Bundy was on that night and spun some mighty soul and hip-hop flavoured tunes. Supposedly, Manual is one of the top DJ’s in New Zealand. However, I’d never heard of him before – I must be living under a rock. ;)

I’ve just now sobered up from a wonderful night out at the London Bar in Auckland where a cocktail party was held to celebrate the launch this weekend’s Armageddon Expo.

You’re probably asking yourself, what does this have to do with fashion, seeing as how Armageddon Expo is a sci-fi event? Well, not much really! However, actors and musicians, and there were a good number in attendance tonight, tend to be some of the most fashionable people around. Also, who doesn’t enjoy a good party?

Anyway, as you can see from my slideshow above, I mixed and mingled, schmoozed and boozed, with the best of them! And, not to be outdone by anyone, I pretty much managed to get a photo of myself taken with just about every celebrity that was in attendance! ;)

The event was great fun! The band was very good, the celebrities gracious and friendly, and the crowd was really lively and really seemed to fully enjoy themselves.

The Armageddon Expo-Auckland will be held at the ASB Showgrounds, in Greenlane, from October 24-26th. That’s this weekend!

Several nights ago I attended the Splore music and arts festival line-up announcement in Grey Lynn. Below are the musicians currently scheduled to perform at the event. And, above, are a few photos I snapped at the announcement.

Another old school Hip Hop classic for you all today. This is taken from Guru's 1993 release entitled "Jazzmatazz Volume: 1". And, it's a CD that has remained constantly on my playlist throughout the years.

I had to run to the post shop this afternoon and ran across some interesting sights I'd like to share with you all...

Images/ A Colourful Guy (double click to enlarge)

I've never been able to resist art supply displays - having an artistic background I couldn't though - and I was just entranced by all the wonderful colours of the one above.

I'd actually considered pursuing a career as a fine artist at one point in my life. However, I like money too much to want to live like a pauper, which most artists do.

Images/ A Colourful Guy (double click to enlarge)

Isn't this little man just delightful? I snapped these clandestinely during his quieter moments, as just seconds before he been exploring his mother's nose and mouth with his fingers, much to her annoyance it seemed.

I totally overlooked this! However, I just found out that the father of P Funk, George Clinton, turned 68 on July 22.

I had the pleasure of meeting George once when I worked at Warner Bros. Records head office in Burbank, California back in the late 80s. And, I had the immense pleasure of seeing him perform twice in Washington, D.C. when his bands were at their most popular. They put on a fantastic show both times!

While any who's every seen Parliament-Funkadelic perform live will know exactly what I'm talking about, to those that haven't, no one could extend a groove the way this band could. Throw in a heavy dose of acid inspired guitar wailing, and that, mixed with all the marijuana smoke that was floating around the venues, outrageous costumes worn by the band - a diaper wearing, dummy sucking guitar player - made for an experience that was almost transcendental.

I'm reaching way back into my archives today and bringing you a band that was multicultural well before it was hip to be so. They blended Indian, Middle Eastern, Jamaican Reggae and European Electronica musics together like none had before them and no one else really has since. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Transglobal Underground...

Gerald Simpson (aka A Guy Called Gerald) has never really gotten the recognition he truly deserved as one of the chief founders of Acid House, Techno and Drum N Bass. Well, to help remedy this situation, please enjoy this song from his 2000 CD release "Essence".

I've decided that I'm going to go out, at least once a week, and capture images of what I consider to be interesting and stylishly dressed people that I encounter. You know, what ever just takes my fancy and looks good to my eye. So, to start this series off, I'd like to present two people I encountered today that I thought were well dressed and interesting:

All images - A Colourful Guy

I liked this woman's outfit because of the colour combinations and the relaxed ease it has. Although it can't be seen well in the photo, the detailing on the back pocket of the jeans is also orange. She was a bit shy about being photographed - I can't blame her really - as she thought I might be up to no good. I assured her I wasn't. ;)

All I can say about this outfit is... Wow! I love the colour of the coat! And, the way it's all tied together with the long sleeve print tee, the tights and the boots.

Oh, god! Who is this wanker and what does he think he's doing? Oh, wait! That's me! LOL! :)

I can't really say that I'm a fan of any of the labels mentioned on the flyer. However, I do, on occasion, like some of the more colourful pieces that Zambesi does. And, occasionally, NOM*D will tickle my fancy. But, at least I told you about the sale! ;)

My beautiful little granddaughter has decided to share her skincare regimen with us all. She tells me that a mixture of chopped, boiled vegetables and various raw fruit slices, applied liberally at least once daily all over the face and body, does wonders for her delicate complexion.

It's come to my attention that Polo Ralph Lauren is holding an end of season sale that starts today. The Newmarket store will be selling clothes and accessories at up to 50% off the normal retail price. They're located at 277 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland.

Personally, I've never been too keen on the American prep style of clothing that Ralph Lauren does. However, I have found myself liking a few select pieces from his more recent collections. So, I may just go down and check out the sale myself. ;)

Now, call me slow. But, I only very recently became a fan of Mos Def after checking out his "The New Danger" CD. What delighted me about the release, beside the excellent music throughout, was Mos' assertions that African-Americans invented Rock and Roll. Well, I've got news for you all: They did! Anybody with any serious knowledge of music history would only need reference the classic works of Mississippi Delta Blues artists to prove that African-Americans were indeed the founding fathers, and mothers, of what we call Rock and Roll today.

The original version of this song was part my introduction to Drum N Bass when I lived in Brighton, England briefly during the 90s. I knew then that I was hearing something completely different from anything I'd ever heard before. And, I've been hooked on DNB ever since.

I had the pleasure at being at a performance where Tiki did an extended DnB version of this song a few years ago. And, he absolutely blew the crowd away with it. A taste of the DnB remix begins at 3:05 into the video.

What can I say about Prince that hasn't already been said before? Nothing really. But, I'll give it a shot: An innovator, a pioneer, a style icon, a class act and a musical genius! Here is he performing "Somewhere Here On Earth" on the penultimate edition of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

There's big imported designer clothing sale going on in Newmarket, right now, and it runs until 5pm Monday, June 1!

I've just come back from there, and they have a nice selection of stock, with plenty of menswear. Some examples: Armani, D&G, Prada, Versace, Cavali, Evisu and more. I was rather lucky to grab a D&G slim fit shirt for just $80, simply because the price had been marked wrong. Even on sale it should have been $200! Yeah! I know! Lucky me! :D

Anyway, the exact address, in case one can't read the flyer clearly, is 108 Carlton Gore Road, Newmarket. And, please feel free to tell them that A Colourful Guy sent you. Don't expect to get any further discount because for that though. ;)